Rodney M. Hanson, Lt. Col. Ret.

A private Memorial Service for Rodney Melbourne Hanson, 88, will be held on Thursday, April 1, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2500 Southside Drive, Shreveport, Louisiana. A visitation prior to the Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. in the Rose-Neath Chapel. Burial will follow at the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery, 7970 Mike Clark Road in Keithville at 2:00 p.m. Rodney was born in Emerson, Arkansas on May 28, 1932 to Walter and Pearl Hanson and passed away on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. The family moved to Cullen, Louisiana in 1942; he stayed there until his graduation from Springhill High School in 1950 where he lettered in basketball and made many lifelong friendships that he still cherishes after almost seventy years. Later he attended Louisiana Tech University from 1951-1954. On January 30, 1954, Rodney's life changed course when he made the momentous decision to serve his country in the United States Air Force. He graduated from the Aviation Cadet Program in March 1955 as a Second Lieutenant and a Navigator. Shortly thereafter, he was married to the love of his life, a beautiful nurse named Doris Gibson. March 27, 2021 would have been their sixty-sixth wedding anniversary. His first operational unit was Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. As Wing Lead Navigator, he dropped paratroopers from C-119s. Rodney's heroism was displayed when he was forced to make an emergency landing in Costa Rica after an engine malfunction. His valor shined through again in Albany, Georgia, when he saved an off-course plane by directing the pilot to the runway. In 1959, he became a Radar Navigator in Sacramento, California at Mather Air Force Base. One year later, he was transferred to Lake Charles, Louisiana to navigate B-47s. During his time there, he experienced the chilling throat of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Rodney's most memorable time in the Air Force was navigating B-52s at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington, from 1963-1967. Afterwards, he was transferred to March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. He became part of a three-man planning team that developed the war plans for all of the bases in the 15th Air Force in preparation for of World War III. In February 1970, Rodney was sent to Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota to help start a squadron formed by Strategic Air Command (SAC). In case of World War III, they would replace Looking Glass that was in the air at the beginning of the war. At that time, they would become Looking Glass and the plane in the air would land at Ellsworth AFB and become part of their squadron. They would be responsible for recovering all SAC planes. They would also restrike any target that was not covered by missile or airplane. They were the only squadron that could expend another missile or nuclear weapon at that time. In 1972, Rodney became head of the squadron that would be in command of SAC until his retirement as a Lieutenant Colonel on February 1, 1974. Rodney spent over 6,000 hours in the air over twenty years. After finishing with the Air Force, he took jobs as a material manager in the U.S. and abroad, including a lignite power plant in Tatum, Texas, a drilling platform in Norway, and a nuclear power plant in Bay City, Texas. His final job was in Singapore, and he returned to the U.S. in 1982 and officially retired and resided in Shreveport, Louisiana. Back in the day, Rodney was an avid reader and loved traveling, visiting a total of twenty-two foreign countries and thirty-six U.S. states. Gardening was another hobby he enjoyed, especially growing roses. He was a member of both the American Rose Society and International Rose Society. He bred and showed Arabian horses for over eleven years. He also loved fishing and hunting pheasant and grouse with his bird dog, Lady. Rodney is preceded in death by his parents; brother, W.L. and wife, Dorothy Hanson, Jr.; brother-in-law, Leo Dennington; and nephew, Tim Hanson; daughter-in-law, Bonita Hanson. Left to cherish his memory is his wife of 66 years, Doris Hanson; children, Debbie Ross and husband, Paul of DeQueen, Arkansas; Rodney "Mel" Hanson and wife, Donna of Clayton, Texas; grandsons, Jason Ross and wife, Tamara of Rogers, Arkansas, and Jonathon Ross of Little Rock, Arkansas; great-grandchildren, Kiera, Kinsler, Christian and John-Abram; sister, Faye Dennington; brother-in-law, Kenneth Gibson and wife, Adele; and numerous other family members. Throughout a long life of courageous service, he has never forgotten his roots. He was a man of honor, loyalty and trust. Eighty-eight years has taught him that you never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.